One Year in Shanghai

How one family of 3 is adapting to their one year stay in Shanghai, transplanted from idyllic Switzerland.

[yearinshanghai]

Lane Life

To cap off this blog and my musings about living in Shanghai for the year, it seems befitting to describe the "living as a local" experience, or as close to it as we got - spending the last few months living in a Shanghai Lane or longtang (弄堂).  

Many foreigners find the idea of living in a lane house very intriguing.  I was asked by many friends, "So??  What's it like?!?"

Honestly speaking, it's okay.  The worst part of it, which I'm sure is the same with any older place in a big city, was the roaches.  At least, we didn't have mice, thanks to the resident cat.

When I mentioned the bug problem to my Chinese teacher she pointed out that Chinese people never want to live on the ground floor when there is a garden out front particularly because of the creepy crawlies.  A-ha...  No wonder there were around 4 ground floor units on our lane being renovated to rent out for crazy prices to the foolish laowai's!  (The unit behind the cat - next door to us - was also under renovation.)

Well, we eventually got used to the occasional unannounced visitor and then life on the lane was actually quite a unique and enjoyable experience.  Here is a short collection of my observations:  

Deliveries:  In the absence of an intercom system or even a functional mailbox, delivery guys pulled their scooters right up to the front door and yelled loudly for the recipient or what they were delivering.  In my case: "Water delivery, ground floor!!"  In Chinese, of course!

Fruit carts: Occasionally, merchants wheeled their goods down the lane, hollering the fruit they are selling and the price.  I particularly took advantage of the watermelon guy, since I don't like carrying heavy things around.  

Recyclables Guy:  This guy was my favorite.  I called him the hardest worker on the lane.  He was located a few meters from my house entrance where by 8:30 in the morning, he already had a cartful of containers and cardboard that he had collected at who-knows-what-time.  Then he spent the whole day there waiting for people to bring more stuff over to him.  I regularly brought him my recyclables, which he is supposed to pay me for because he sells it on for a higher price, but I never took those few cents.  So he always had a gracious smile for me.  By the end of the day, around 6 PM, his "workplace" was all tidied up, he was gone and all the garbage was removed. And he did this at least 6 days a week, sometimes 7.  (He was pretty cool about me taking his picture whereas the old ladies pictured here were very amused that someone wanted his picture!)

Daily outdoor card game:  I really regret not having a picture of this, but the half dozen or so old Chinese guys sitting at the lane entrance playing cards every night in their undershirts were just too intimidating for me to go up and ask if I could take their photo.  Not to mention, that there were usually another 3-5 people standing around watching them play, as if it were a spectator sport.  For me, this was always an iconic image of life in China and what a wonder it was to be really living amongst it.

Nosy Chinese Neighbors:  I'm almost disappointed that we had no issues with this at all.  It seems that the Chinese don't care much to interact with the foreigners.  There was once when the nice lady upstairs offered me one of her two ayi's to hang up my laundry outside, but hubby forbade me to do so, due to the Shanghai pollution.    So sadly, no funny stories for the blog.

Working Out: A common fixture in the Shanghai lanes is this area where the elderly tend to go for exercise.  It was next door to our house, and painted in bright colors so C called it the "playground".  Unfortunately, it was infested with mosquitoes, so we only went on rare occasions when doused in mosquito repellant.

And the last local custom:  Walking around the streets here, you see people out and about in their pajamas.  It was explained to me that this is a display of status in Shanghai showing that you have enough money to own a different set of clothes just for lounging around in.   I've seen pajamas paired with heels and pajamas paired with pearls and always been in such awe.  Pajamas are undoubtedly the most comfortable clothes, so why NOT wear them all day long??  So, here is the final picture of us showing that we adapted to living in China...

Okay, that's a totally posed picture and we didn't really walk around in our pajamas.  However, I just wanted to emphasize how much we loved living in Shanghai and being part of the fabric of this mega metropolis.  C's learning to speak Chinese totally exceeded our expectations and we are thrilled with the outcome.  Hubby gets all the credit for deciding to move the family to Shanghai for a year...

And, actually, within a month of being back in Switzerland, hubby already said we are going back for a short visit.  We miss our friends and the food!! 

So that's THE END of this blog!

Thanks for reading along.

[yearinshanghai]

Instant Gratification

New York City is well known as the "city that never sleeps".  Having lived there before and then spending a year in Shanghai, I tend to think Shanghai is like New York on steroids.  The city is massive, there are people everywhere, the subway is clean and modern, the buildings are bigger and shinier, stores are open ALL the time, and the shopping possibilities are dizzying.  (Even online, Amazon compared to Taobao is like a basic model Toyota Corolla compared to a Bentley GT with all the options.)

What comes along with living in a city like this is convenience and choice. And most of all: instant gratification at a fraction of the cost you are used to.

Feel like a massage?  Drive up to one of the 10 massage places within a few blocks' radius, no appointment necessary during the week, and they are open until after midnight.  Pick from a menu of massages.  And park right in front.

Want your nails done?  Also, no appointment.  Open until at least 10 pm.  And another dozen or so places to choose from within walking distance.  Same with a haircut, although there are slightly fewer places.

Feel like a movie?  The latest flicks are available at your neighborhood DVD store for 12 RMB ($2) per disc, including pretty much every TV show that is hot, once it has aired.  We plowed through Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, House of Cards, Game of Thrones, and Homeland, just to name a few.  This little gem was half a block away:

And back to the parking right in front, since I was really enjoying scooting (until we got busted)...  my fruit stand.  It had the freshest seasonal fruits and was open ALL the time.  Even Sundays!  

Living it up in Shanghai!!

[yearinshanghai]

Spring Outing

Although this happened a long time ago, it left such an indelible impression upon me that I had to share...  

Another new concept and term that I learned while in China was that of chun you (春游) which translates to "spring outing".  This sounds innocuous enough, and in the school context is a field trip taken in the spring.  So I thought.  Little did I know, what it actually means is that most Shanghai schools decide to go on these "spring outings" on pretty much the same exact day.  Let me remind you, the population of the city is roughly 23 million...

The first clue that this was no ordinary field trip was when a parent or adult was obligated to attend with their child.  I had previously volunteered for exactly this duty, but was never taken up on my offer.  Secondly, it seems some other friends in my building were also going on Spring Outings that same day with their kids who were at various other schools.  Hmmm....

So, little C donned his school uniform (mandatory for field trips only) and we set off to school that day.  The day started out normal enough with snack/lunch/and water distributed as we got on the bus to go to the Botanical Garden.  There was even a plan once we got there that our class would spend 20 minutes in each of the 3 exhibition halls, and then go outside and have lunch together on the lawn. Well, within 2 minutes of entering the first hall, I saw no one from our class - not even a teacher.  It was packed.  And huge.  That's when I realized exactly why a parent was necessary.  There would've been no way for the teachers to monitor the kids in a crowd like this!

C was not interested in the 20 different kinds of orchids and frankly, neither was I.  So I quickly snapped some photos to prove we visited the exhibit then went to find some of C's little classmates.

What the little ones were drawn to, was actually the big grassy area outside.  They just wanted to run around with their friends and play, not look at plants.  

My iPhone couldn't adequately capture the vast area.  It was absolutely terrifying for me to have C running around with his friends among all the other schools on their spring outings and on so big a space.  (Note my previous post about my fear of child snatchers in China!)  The little boy in the gray hoodie below playing next to C even disappeared for a short while.

There were at least 5 moms sitting there, including his own, and from one second to the next, none of us saw him.  My heart sank to my stomach with worry, yet I was unable to help search for fear of the same thing happening to C.  Fortunately, she found him, but only after walking far and wide down to an adjacent field.  Which leads me to say, the person who designed the school uniform was a genius.  For all its hideousness, it certainly made those kids visible and recognizable.  Those bright orange striped pants were the most beautiful part of that spring outing!!

[yearinshanghai]

Busted!

Before we moved to Shanghai for the year, I was warned by numerous people both Chinese and non-Chinese of the various dangers that awaited in China. The pollution. The food scandals. The aggressive husband-stealing women. The child-traffickers. Somehow the first 2 didn’t bother me, but the last 2 were more of a concern. One Chinese friend told me that you must have 2 adults with you whenever out with a child so that there is always someone with their full attention on the little one. Another (more dramatic) Chinese friend looked hubby in the eye and stated, “Your kid will be STOLEN! Not kidnapped. You can get a kidnapped child back!” And yet another friend told me that every single expat couple she knows that moved to China has split up. Sooo…. Needless to say, I was quite worried.

Throughout the year, I was very VERY cautious with C, vigilant even. The hordes of people make it quite easy to quickly lose a child. However, as time went on and I saw all the families strolling in our neighborhood, or at the playground, or at the pool, I realized that perhaps the situation had been blown out of proportion. And hubby wasn’t spending long hours in the office and travelling on business, rather safely in Chinese lessons a few hours a day. I personally considered the traffic situation one of the bigger threats, and our going around in taxis and the scooter with C as slightly irresponsible…

As the year drew to a close, I reflected back upon the warnings and the traffic and thought to myself, “Whew! We are almost done and nothing terrible has happened.” I didn’t even dare blog about this topic while still in China (writing this from Switzerland), since I am slightly superstitious.

Well….. one week before our flight back to Switzerland - it happened. Something quite unpleasant. We had a run-in with the Chinese police!!! For the violation of a law that we are still a bit fuzzy on, our beloved red scooter was confiscated on the spot, a few blocks from our apartment. It was either because we didn’t have a license plate and/or because we didn’t have the registration/title. And we couldn’t play dumb because the policeman spoke some English while I had to pretend not to speak any Chinese since they are known to be more lenient towards foreigners. (Which technically I am!)

With one week to go, we just kept thinking, “What bad luck!!” Then we scrambled to figure out what to do and how to get the scooter back. It turns out that we never had the registration/title in our possession and we had to go back to the dealer and hope that she still had it from 10 months ago when we made the purchase. After some back and forth and some imprecise communication about where her records are kept, she actually did manage to dig it out for us. So that was the first step.

We were then very nervous the next day when going to the police station. Without knowing what our offense really was, we also didn’t know how seriously we would be penalized. Fortunately, it turned out to be only a matter of pushing paper and paying some costs and a fine before we drove out with a big sigh of relief on the scooter. Note: I usually like to have pictures to document the experience but I didn’t dare take any at the police station and get into further trouble! So here’s one more of us on the scooter:

In the end, in a multi-step single-threaded process going back and forth among various counters and locations, the final damage was this:

Photocopy of docs: 2 RMB (33 cents)

Towing: 70 RMB ($12)

Imprint of serial number: 20 RMB ($3.30)

Parking fee: 20 RMB ($3.30)

Fine: 50 RMB ($8.30)

One way taxi: 150 RMB ($25)

After the 3 hour ordeal, we summed up the amount, and compared it to what the damage would have been if we had spent the time getting a massage and concluded: It was much cheaper, so actually, we MADE money!!!

[yearinshanghai]

Tribute to Ayi's

One very essential experience of living in China is that of having an Ayi.  EVERYBODY has one (and sometimes more).  I thought this whimsical sign at a local restaurant was a good example of this:

However, this doesn’t mean just having a servant like a housekeeper/nanny/cook.  Ayi embodies all of those and more.  She cares about your well-being   She will educate you about China.  She will try to improve you.  She will share her opinions with you.  And don't forget, she knows everything about you because she does everything in your house!  But ultimately, Ayi is really more like an extension to the family.  (Ayi even translates literally to "auntie".)

Although our Ayi didn’t work for us full-time, she still really grew on me.  She bought the groceries for the food that she then cooked for us.  She folded and ironed laundry.  She vacuumed, dusted, and mopped the floors.  She did the dishes.  She cleaned the kitchen and scrubbed the bathrooms.  She took out the garbage.  And then some.  In short, we were spoiled!  I asked her advice on doing various things in China and asked her how to cook some Chinese dishes.  She was always ready with some good practical information.  Before us, she was already working for bro and SIL for a year and once even helped to pick up Calvin the doggie from boarding when his mommy and daddy were running late.

As we were preparing to leave, Ayi was there for us until the very last day – helping to get things sorted and actually, she bought our red scooter!  (There were 2 other buyers who really really wanted it, but I promised it to Ayi…)  We left many household items to her that we could not bring back to Switzerland and it turns out that Ayi is also a master at piling things on top of her old scooter…

Thanks for everything, Ayi!!  We will definitely miss you...

[yearinshanghai]

Din Tai Fung

An account of our year in Shanghai would be offensively remiss without notable mention of our favorite restaurant: Din Tai Fung. It was an integral part of the experience - our monthly or more trips to savor the best soup dumplings (xiao long bao) EVER.

Living and travelling a bit through China this past year, I discovered that more than one city claims to have the best soup dumplings: Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and at least the undisputed origin seems to be Nanxiang. And ironically, the most famous restaurant serving these delicious balls of juicy goodness, is Taiwanese. This multi-national restaurant chain, had about 5 branches in Shanghai with another 3 or so opening soon. We tried all 5. Multiple times.

Without further ado, here is what I am talking about:

I could barely snap that picture in time before the chopsticks of my fellow diners dove in for the little treasures. This is even the second basket, the first one was gone in about 30 seconds. There is also a handy-dandy guide for those amateur xiaolongbao eaters: Laminated - because these babies are messy!

Besides the standard xiao long bao, there is a variety of other food, including mini-xiao long bao with soup, and the most delicious spicy shrimp wontons:

Now, why, you might be asking, are there none of these restaurants in Europe? This is a question many a Din Tai Fung diner has probably asked themselves, including us. It certainly sounds like a great business opportunity to introduce Chinese food of this impeccable quality to the Old World. Alas, to make these delights requires an army of people and the answer is that labor is too expensive. When I took this picture of the kitchen, it was about a third of the staff that one usually sees:

Besides loving the food, my son always enjoys getting some dough to play with from the super friendly staff. Often they make little animals for him despite the constant crowds streaming through the restaurant.

My mouth is watering just writing this post… We will miss you Din Tai Fung!!

[yearinshanghai]

Getting Around Town

It caught me rather by surprise that I wound up enjoying riding the scooter to quickly get from Point A to Point B.  I think it's even more fun than driving a golf cart around - it's more challenging navigating the streets and having obstacles to dodge.  There is also a liberating feeling in not having to follow ANY traffic rules.  Red lights - schmed lights.  One way road?  Not on a scooter!  The other day, I was trying to figure out which side of the one-way road to drive on and then realized, it doesn't matter.  Whichever lane I choose is MY LANE.  (A true local Chinese mentality!!)  And in case you were wondering, you don't need a driver's license to operate an electric scooter in Shanghai.  (Unlike Switzerland where you need to pass a theoretical and practical exam to PLAY GOLF.)

But having said that, I am very much looking forward to returning to the comfort and safety of my car and a carseat for C.  We have been rather lax, holding him with no seatbelt in taxis and also going short distances with him on the scooter.

Actually, I always enjoy seeing the various contraptions that the Chinese and expats come up with to cart the little ones around...

Sometimes this gets me wondering if we are going overboard in the Western world with our draconian carseat laws...  Not that I think we are because obviously we want to keep kids safe - but just a thought...

[yearinshanghai]

Pomegranates and Pomelos

Ahhhh....  one thing I really enjoy is seasons.  And knowing when one has ended and a new one has begun.

The oppressive heat of the Shanghai summer has finally dissipated and the new season of pomegranates and pomelos is now upon us.  Pomegranates seem to have become a trendy fruit over the last few years and I was delighted to find fresh pomegranate juice carts turning up on every street corner.  Once in Antalya, Turkey, I was very disappointed by a cup of what I thought was real pomegranate juice at the market.  A fresh pomegranate was displayed next to the pitcher of juice, but from the taste, it was obviously made from a powder.  So, in Shanghai I was pleased to watch the man pressing my pomegranates in his machine to yield a delicious juice on that warm fall day.  (Note to self: fresh = light pink, fake = bright red)

I also love pomelos, which I didn't know before moving to Shanghai.  I think I had seen them before and called them "giant grapefruit" but never really knew what they were or how to eat them.  Well, when we arrived in late October 2012, SIL was peeling them for us and we all happily munched away at them.  The task of peeling a pomelo is actually quite a chore.  (To me, at least!)  Luckily, SIL enjoyed it and found it therapeutic.  But with this October rolling around and SIL back in the States, I had no choice but to do it myself...

Dang - getting the skin off each and every piece while trying to keep it intact, takes a good 30-45 minutes...  Not what I consider an enjoyable way to spend my time!  But I suppose the fruits of my labor, are worth it.  Literally.

[yearinshanghai]

Bittersweet Endings

With 3 more days until we fly home to Switzerland, I am both happy and sad to be going.  I can't wait to go back to the beauty and cleanliness of Switzerland.  I also miss my home: my kitchen, my bed and my nice bathroom.  My dear friends and their kids are all faces I can't wait to see again.  However, life here in Shanghai was good.  In fact, it was great.

I didn't expect to make good friends given our short stint here, but I met some amazing ladies and we had barrels of laughs and great times together -  Tuesday nights at the Camel Bar for Pub Quiz, trips to the Fabric Market, drinks at Cantina or Paulaner, and of course the play dates - will all be fondly remembered.  One life lesson - the Dutch are FUN!

And although C sometimes was reluctant to walk to school in the morning, I think he also had a blast at school with his amazing teachers and Chinese classmates.  Hubby and I can't stop patting ourselves on the back that C is speaking Chinese so fluently now, having started with nothing.  His teachers and friends are so sad to see him go, and that also makes it hard to leave.

Although this would be the natural conclusion to my blog, there are still so many memories to capture.  I think I have around 5 more posts to go before I can call it a wrap - and then I expect life will be much less interesting once I go back to the "real world"...

[yearinshanghai]

Bike Around Shanghai

With just a couple weeks left to go, we finally managed to do a Shanghai bike tour with my friend Miss M the bike guide.  We absolutely loved it.  Thankfully, Shanghai is quite flat, and there are lots of little roads that make it quite comfortable to go at a leisurely pace while taking in the sights and sounds of daily Chinese life.  It took a bit more concentration at the busier intersections, but thankfully I was already used to cycling in Shanghai traffic.  I felt bad for the older British tourist who was understandably nervous and scared of the oncoming cars and constant honking.  Poor fella.

Miss M was amazing and took us on this 4 hour journey through modern and traditional Shanghai - ending up at the Bund for the ultimate Shanghai panoramic shot.  (It was a gorgeous fall day!)

Her tour was carefully crafted: going down peaceful streets humming with local activities as well as briefly intersecting with the buzz of tourists and shoppers on Nanjing Road.  We slowly pedaled through the Old Town where the narrow alleys housed the simple antiquated residences of people who only have running water outside and the taps are kept under lock and key to prevent neighbors from surreptitious usage.  Then onto the Former French Concession where European-style villas still stand and the tree-lined streets remind one of Napoleon planting trees to shade his troops.  Let the pictures speak for themselves:

Daily Life at the Fresh Market

In the middle of Nanjing Road - Pedestrian Street

Built in 1926 as The French Club, now the Okura Garden Hotel

My favorite picture - Approaching Yu Garden with Pudong skyline in back. (I am pleased this picture came out as I took it one-handed with my iPhone while riding behind Miss M!)

Funnily enough, we also turned out to be quite the spectacle ourselves with 7 Caucasians and me pedaling around town.  A Chinese lady on a bike even asked Hubby what we were all doing while she biked alongside him.  Miss M must get this all the time because she behaved with grace and class greeting everyone with "Hello" or "Ni Hao" and her 10,000 watt smile.  Thanks for a great morning and a great memory of Shanghai!!

[yearinshanghai]

My 4 Year Old

Blogging about our year in Shanghai has been as much about keeping friends and family informed, as it has been a record for us to keep about our time spent here in this mega-metropolis.  With that in mind, I want to make a note to myself about the developmental status of C as we are preparing now to leave Shanghai.

(Also, we had some amazing photos taken of him at a Korean Baby Photo Studio that I wanted to share.)

Dressing - Finally, he can dress and undress himself.  I couldn't wait for this day to come!

Eating - Can do this himself, but still prefers to be fed and eats really really slow.  No veggies and fruit except banana, fruit puree, or soft carrots.  Loves Chinese food: xiao long bao, dumplings, scallion pancakes, and rice and meat.  Loves anything deep fried. Not big into sweets: chocolate, ice cream, cake.  Weird.

Drinking - we finally phased out the baby bottle completely after the last trip, but this means he drinks less milk now and more slowly.  Vitamin enriched chocolate milk in the morning, and milk with dinner and some more afterwards.

Biking - Didn't bring the balance bike, and didn't purchase any bikes for the year here, so skills unknown

Scooting - Pretty fast, can brake, and skid, and learned to jump today!

Sleeping - Still napping, mostly. Sleeps through the night no issue.  No diapers for the last 8 months or so.

Potty - Peeing all by himself, but still needs help with poopie. This development is especially useful when he goes by himself while I am sleeping!

Languages - Fluent in English and Mandarin.  Yeah!  German is completely forgotten.  He could understand and speak some when we arrived 11 months ago.

Reading/Writing - Can write his own name and most letters.  Can read simple words like: cat, bat, fat, rat, hop, pop, mom, dad, etc. (English only)

Counting - Up to around 20 in both English and Chinese.  He can go higher if I help...

Favorite toys - Hudi and Nooshi, Transformers, especially Rescue Bots, all cars, especially race cars with spoilers.  Secondary now are his Disney Cars collectibles, and Thomas the Train, although he can still have fun with these.  Starting to get into big boy Lego's - building cars and vehicles, of course.

Hygiene related - So happy he can blow his own nose!  Also can detect when his nose is about to start bleeding and grab a tissue himself. Absolutely hates getting his toenails cut, but super good at haircuts!

Sports - Not yet exposed to much beyond throwing and catching balls.  But runs like the wind!

Manners - Sadly, still lacking.  Please and Thank You are there, but not much into greeting people and saying goodbye.  Prefers funny faces and playing with his toys.

School - Monday through Friday: 9:00 - 3:30 pm. Walking or scooting to and from everyday. 

I am hoping that C will one day want to read about the year we took him to Shanghai to learn Chinese and will find this post amusing...

[yearinshanghai]

Some Chinese Quirks

Today is Sunday.  And C is at school.  It's not the first time he has had school on the weekend.  The Chinese system is such that when there is a public holiday during the week, the days are then made up over the weekend.  The first time this happened, I didn't even realize because who ever heard of going to school on the weekend?  The next time, my friend Miss L explained the concept to me, and we still kept C at home, because we thought it was cruel to make him go which would result in him having 7 straight days of school.  Western kids DON'T attend school on the weekends!  Well, as the months went on and the holidays started adding up, our principles slowly eroded, and we are anyways paying tuition(!) so here we are.  It's Sunday, and Mommy has a day off!  (Thanks to Mid-Autumn Festival.)

This makes me think of some other peculiarities that I have observed during the last 10 months:

Things that don’t exist in China

Even though pretty much everyone has a mobile phone, and sometimes multiple phones, there is no voicemail in China.  Don't know why.  It's just the way it is.  I also have not seen answering machines.

I have complained many a time about the chaos on the roads here, but amazingly enough – there is no road rage.  People don’t get mad when you ride your bike or scooter on the sidewalk.  People don’t get mad if someone is blocking the road, you just go around them.  And please use any space that is available.  Shoulder, oncoming lane, sidewalk.  No problem.  No road rage!

Chinese English Names

Many Chinese people here have adopted English names.  It can be considered fashionable to have one, or sometimes just practical for work and/or dealing with foreigners.  The thing is, some of the English names are rather unconventional, and I just want to share with you the ones of people I have met.  I’m sure there are weirder names out there (I did a quick Google and found some doozies) but these are people I have a personal connection to, listed  from least weird to most weird.

5.  Angel (C’s teacher and another girl who is the girlfriend of Bro’s colleague)

4.  Phoenix (my MALE tour guide in Xi An)

3.  Blue (Little girl C played with at hotel in HK)

2.  Cookie (real estate agent)

1.  Zero (Girl at my apartment’s management company.)  When I met her, I couldn’t help but ask, is your name really ‘Zero’?  Try saying that with no smirk on your face....

[yearinshanghai]

A Visit to the Capital

In China, there is only one time zone, called Beijing Time.  This is intriguing because geographically, China technically spans five time zones.  But it just goes to demonstrate the power and influence of the government and how China considers itself a unified force to be reckoned with.

Beijing was one of the few cities on our must-visit list when we first moved to Shanghai.  I had already visited the sights ages ago but Hubby had never been.  Now with only 30 days left in China after the last visa renewal trip, Hubby opted out of a visit to prepare for the move home.  My main motivation for going was to see a dear friend from Switzerland who was on a 2 year stint there.  I thought C would enjoy the train ride and playing with her kids so I packed our bags for a short 2 night stay (with no sightseeing.)

A friend showed me this rinky-dink window in our neighborhood to buy train tickets which I would've never found without her, since there is no English anywhere.  What always amazes me, is how some things in China are so low-tech and some are so high-tech.  Like the ticket window vs. the bullet train.  Going from Shanghai to Beijing is 1318 km (819 miles) but only took 5 hours as the train would hit top speeds of 300 km/h.  And what a comfortable ride it was!

The kids had a blast together and it was wonderful to catch up with an old friend again.  I credit Miss J for introducing me to most of my Zurich friends, before she up and left for Geneva...

The other wonderful experience was having PEKING DUCK IN PEKING!!!  It was the first time I had such a selection of fillings to put in the pancake along with the duck.  Cantaloupe was rather nice!  The succulent and expertly carved bird was even devoured by my picky eater little C.  Yum yum yum!

[yearinshanghai]

Have a Magical Day

I am a huge huge Disney fan.  I love all things Disney: the stories, the movies, the characters, and especially the parks.  Since having C, I have been waiting for the day to take him to Disneyland/World.  My good friend Dr. Susie advised that it wasn’t worthwhile before the age of 6, which I always took as sounding reasonable.  I didn’t see the point in spending all that time and money to go if the experience wasn’t going to be enjoyable or remembered… 

Well, we were in Hong Kong with 5 days to kill waiting for C's visa to be processed.  And the train to HK Disney was less than a 5 minute walk from our hotel through the mall.  The ride itself was also only 20 some minutes, so we decided to make a day trip out of it, despite the rainy weather.  I actually thought we would be the only ones headed out there in the rain and was truly shocked to see so many people on the train.

I love the Mickey windows and Mickey handles!  Also, while disembarking, the announcement said "Have a Magical Day."  Classic Disney.  LOVE IT!  

As we walked down Main Street heading toward the castle, happy music was playing and the look of pure delight on C's face as he danced along just made me fall in love with Disney all over again.  I always heard HK was a rather small park, but it was just perfect for a 4 year old on a rainy day.  With some rides either too scary or too wet, we had just the right amount to do.  We even went on It's a Small World twice because there was ZERO line.

There was also a new section I don't recall from my youth where you could line up for pictures with the various characters....  Sadly, Donald Duck was a no-show, but we met the others - including a Chinese Pluto.

The day was a great success.  We all had oodles of fun and C was the lucky recipient of many many stickers from various Disney staff and a new toy from Daddy.  Oh, to be young again!

[yearinshanghai]

The first five minutes of C's first ever visit to a Disney Park at Age 4:  Hong Kong Disneyland

[yearinshanghai]

Hong Kong – Futuristic Living

Having just gotten back from Hong Kong, I can’t help but marvel at how it feels like living in the future.  Hubby and I joke that it’s like living on a spaceship.  The adventure begins when you “dock” at the airport.  When disembarking and walking towards immigration, there are heat scanners and monitors to check if anyone coming in has an elevated temperature.  C is always stopped with an actual thermometer put on his head, probably because little kids carry lots of germs.

Then, due to convenience, we always pick a hotel that is located at an Airport Express stop.  I just love this.  After claiming our bags, we walk a short distance across the terminal, and hop on a nice modern train that will get us to the city.  The train station is then connected to a mega-mall which is connected to our hotel.  So, without ever having to be outside, and in less than 45 minutes, we were checking-in at the ultra-modern W hotel. 

Attached to the hotel, was a shiny, immaculate mall.  Walking around this modern gleaming structure, felt like roaming the halls of the Starship Enterprise.  If the air outside was to be unbreathable, we’d be fine.  There were restaurants, café’s, supermarkets, clothing stores, and even an ice rink connected to Kowloon Station.  In fact, one afternoon, I left my hotel to go meet a friend at her office (Credit Suisse) and we had afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton and I never stepped foot outside.  I think that’s so cool.

So, the purpose of this trip to HK was to renew C’s visa again.  Since the last trip in late May, the Chinese government changed the rules so this time he’s only allowed to stay for a maximum of 30 days.  This is a few weeks shy of our targeted stay of one year, but means that we are now in preparation for the move home to Switzerland.  Looks like our Year in Shanghai is officially:  Oct 24th 2012 to Oct 5th 2013!

[yearinshanghai]

Escape from Shanghai… to Phuket

We have just experienced the hottest summer in 140 years.  Besides having the longest duration of sweltering days (above 40⁰ C/104⁰ F), we also broke the record for hottest day ever.  The worst part of this was that C and I walked to and from school EVERY day in this heat.  Before the summer, I thought it was my good fortune that the only pre-school that had an open spot for C, also had no summer break.  How perfect – we were only spending a year in Shanghai for him to learn Chinese, so let’s make the most of it! 

On the way to or from school, various shopkeepers would comment and express their surprise that C was still in school, especially in this heat.  Grandma also felt pity for little C having to attend school in the summer – but we both agreed that C had no concept yet of what summer break means, so it’s basically just a normal day for him.  But as the mercury climbed, the walk to school seemed longer and longer, and both our tempers got shorter and shorter.

Towards the end of August, we were obligated to leave the country for another visa renewal, so we decided to make a vacation out of it.  And none too soon.  It was really getting unbearable – 10 days in Thailand followed by 5 in Hong Kong sounded like just what the doctor ordered.  Except that I was a bit afraid that it might feel chilly in Thailand, being only 30⁰ C/86⁰ F…

It was actually perfect.  Despite it being low season, we had barely any rain, and spent innumerable hours just hanging by the pool and by the beach.  Baby Elephant Candy coming by every day after breakfast was a special delight and I even got a hug and a kiss. 

Our ocean-front suite was right on the beach, where the sound of the pounding surf at night was slightly menacing.  I laid awake the first two nights thinking of the 2004 tsunami that devastated Phuket.  So I called my mom and bro to tell them that if they heard of an earthquake in the area, to call me on my mobile, immediately!  

Eventually I managed to sleep and got into the rhythm of relaxing.  The 10 days went by all too soon.